The present invention relates to a member, such as a bracket for supporting, e.g., a shelf, the member to be mounted on a slotted support member (e.g., a slotted support member positioned vertically). Illustratively, the present invention is directed to a shelving system adapter or bracket and, more particularly, to a shelf bracket or adapter that permits different types of shelving to be used with a wide variety of presently available fixturing systems where the maximum slot length is about 11/8 inches, and a method of building a shelving system utilizing such a bracket.
The display industry utilizes a considerable amount of display hardware and accessories in order to display items for viewing in a manner which is both appealing and accessible to the person for whom a particular display is targeted. However, there is a wide variety of hardware available on the market, and most of this hardware is not interchangeable. For example, one line of display hardware includes slotted and unslotted tubing or standards and various types of shelving brackets which are indicated to fit "universal" slotting, i.e., 1/2 inch, 3/8 inch slots on 1 inch centers. However, the problem with all such hardware is that it is not truly universal inasmuch as it cannot be used interchangeably with the hardware of other manufacturers who use different size slots on different centers with tubing o standards with different wall thicknesses. Consequently, the display industry is compelled to inventory a variety of hardware so as to be able to utilize existing shelving systems available in stores. This results in considerable inconvenience and high inventory costs. The nature of the problem is shown by some conventional brackets using multiple tabs varying in size and shape as shown in FIGS. 4A through 4E. Due to the spacing between the multiple tabs, these brackets are inherently limited to particular slot sizes and spacings.
Display units using various bracket designs with a single tab for shelving have also long been well known. For instance, German Patent 120510 shows a shelving adapter constructed to hold shelving orthogonal to a slotted standard or pole. The adapter uses a curved ear which is inserted into a desired pole slot such that a bottom vertical surface intersecting a bottom end of the curved surface of the ear at a pivot point abuts an outside wall of the standard or pole and a top vertical surface intersecting the upper end of the curved surface of the ear abuts a inside wall of the standard when the adapter is in place. However, the vertical distance between the top of the bottom vertical surface and the bottom of the top vertical surface is substantially the same as the length of the standard slots. Moreover, the bottom vertical surface is relatively short and does not provide substantial rigidity and strength for shelving supported thereon. Although the curved surface may be useful in permitting the insertion of the adapter due to the snug fit between the adapter and the slot, the adapter is not designed to provide universal use on other types of standards where, for example, the slot is substantially larger than the aforementioned vertical distance and the top vertical surface on the adapter.
Another type of bracket and vertical support is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,477,735. In this known arrangement, the bracket is formed of a flat piece of sheet metal and has a head portion with a short ear which is passed through a slot in the support. The ear has a short upper vertical surface to abut the interior of the support wall above the upper terminal of the slot and a notch at the bottom so as to straddle the bottom terminal of the slot. Upon installation of the bracket in the support, the curved rear portion of the head between the ear portion and the notch is jammed against the interior of the wall at a position diametrically opposite the slot to prevent the bracket from being swung upwardly. The depth of the notch and the length of the ear portion are configured such that the distance between a shoulder at the ear portion and the bottom of the notch is less than the length of the slot.
Again, however, this bracket is not designed for maximum flexibility in that the depth of the curved portion must be equal to or slightly greater than the depth of the support (that is, the back of the tab must rest against the back of the support wall, in order to achieve sufficient stability of the bracket supported by the support wall), and the short upper vertical surface does not permit the use of the bracket with varying slot sizes.
While the foregoing type of shelving system might be acceptable for home use where only one particular type of fixturing system is likely to be used, it is a drawback for commercial display organizations which are confronted with a wide variety of fixturing standards as previously mentioned. Thus, up to now, a firm which has used a particular type of adapter made by one manufacturer has been forced to purchase the other system components, e.g., gondolas comprising bases and shelving, from that manufacturer, notwithstanding that certain adapters are intended to make a display system more flexible but only within a particular manufacturer's design plan.
Another form of so-called "universal" shelving is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,164 in which a relatively thin gauge blank is formed with a mounting tab to allow the shelves of a service cart to be adjusted up or down to provide universality insofar as the distance between the shelves are concerned. To this end, the mounting tab is formed as an elongated body having a leading edge or nose and a trailing edge which allows manual repositioning of the slider. However, due to the length of the mounting tab, the sliders can only be used on uprights whose slot dimensions and depth are sufficient to accommodate the mounting tab. Such a tab would not be useful in different shelving systems, with gondolas and bases having different slot sizes.